2013 FINA World Championships Roster Finalized

7/2/2013

USA Swimming today finalized its roster of 51 swimmers for the 2013 FINA World Championships, slated for July 20-Aug. 4 in Barcelona, Spain.

Forty-three swimmers qualified for the pool competition in Barcelona at last week’s Phillips 66 National Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., while eight open water competitors qualified for the World Championships at the USA Swimming Open Water National Championships, which took place in May in Santa Clarita, Calif.

Karlee Bispo (Modesto, Calif.) was added to the roster for the women’s 4x200m free relay after Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md.) elected not to swim the 200m free in Barcelona. Bispo placed seventh in the 200m free last week. The third-place finisher at Nationals, Shannon Vreeland (Overland Park, Kan.), will swim the 200m free individual event in place of Ledecky.

Ledecky, who was second in Indianapolis in the 200m free, will swim the 400m free, 800m free and 1500m free at World Championships after winning each event at nationals.

Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.) qualified for her sixth World Championships roster, while fellow gold medalist Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) is bound for his fifth long course worlds event. Seven individual gold medalists from the 2012 Olympic Games are on the roster.

The team is a mix of veteran and rookie competitors. This month’s meet will mark at least the third World Championships event for 16 swimmers, while 27 athletes are headed to their first-ever World Championships. The complete team selection procedure is outlined at usaswimming.org.

The open water action in Barcelona is set for July 20-27, followed by the pool competition July 28-Aug. 4. Complete championships information is available online at bcn2013.com.